1. I’ve been wondering lately if Troy Stecher is the kind of player the Canucks might consider locking up long term — especially if they can get him for a low-ish cap hit.

Sort of like what the Nashville Predators did with Ryan Ellis (5 years, $12.5 million), where the player gets some financial security and the team gets cost certainty.

Stecher is a pending restricted free agent, so I asked Jim Benning on Saturday about the possibility of signing the 23-year-old defenceman to more than a bridge deal.

“We’ll talk about it, we’ll see where his year goes,” said Benning. “But if you’re asking me if he’s a core guy for our group moving forward, I would say yes he is.”

As most of you know, Stecher is from Richmond and grew up cheering for the Canucks. Since signing out of college, he’s become a real fan favourite thanks to his tireless work ethic, ultra-competitive attitude and willingness...